Man City's Elano: I couldn't handle Ukraine winter

Manchester City star Elano admits the Ukraine winters contributed to him failing to settle at former club Shakhtar Donetsk.

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"I never got used to those freezing Ukrainian winters," he told the official Manchester City magazine. "Temperatures dropped to minus 23 at times. Coming from a warm climate like Brazil it made life very hard for me and it did affect my game.

"Everything was different from the rock-hard pitches to the extra footwear and extra clothing I wore to keep warm.

"I had to learn to speak Russian too, so it was a completely different experience, although having been there for two years, I think I managed to beat the cold in the end."

The Brazilian added: "I am enjoying every minute of my time at Manchester City.

"It would be nice to see a few more of my fellow countrymen come here.

"Brazil means passion. A lot of people around the world try to harm one another but in my country, football is more important than anything else."